Zero Memoirs of the Circle
by Yideungbyung Kim
Summary: 2182...Seoul. A SF team has been sent to Europe to investigate the absence of a military officer. 2180...Paris. The IPF has been notified of a possible Gear threat in Korea. The 2 reports are similar to each in one way... the codename, "Zero"
1. Why are We here?

**Notes**: LOL. Iuno bout zis ones... XD. I personally don't know much Guilty Gear since my Xbox went kaput (Harddrive crash D:), so please, be easy on me. u I am also basing this fic on one of my favorite Korean manhwas, the manhwa itself heavy on bittersweet drama. And since the GGX2 setting is like just 5 years after the "Holy War", I plan to make this story pretty dark. And "politically" tense.

**Disclaimer**: Absolutely none... except I don't own jack. Game creator Daisuke owns Guilty Gear. The awesome manhwa-ga duo artist Park Sung-Woo and writer Ihm Dal-Young own "Zero The Beginning of the Coffin".

* * *

Gears

"Talking...duh!"

'_thoughts_...'

-_SFX, sound, or kick butt action_-

_Location change or sumthing else_

Humans

* * *

**Zero Memoirs of the Circle**

**Circle One: Why Are We Here?**

**April 14th, 2182  
Somewhere in Europe  
Hopefully not in France...**

_"I wonder...if we couldn't somehow return to "The Beginning" and start all over again_..._"_

The event replayed in the woman's mind for the millionth time as she absentmindedly sipped her tea. She didn't understand...why are they here? Her leader's incoherent babbling did not ring a bell in her ears. Hell, she couldn't even fathom why she was here, while she could be home and doing...stuff. Her eyes closed as she wondered once again...

It still did not explain _why_.

The bright chirping of a bird outside caught her attention. The girl half-heartedly opened one eye to gaze upon it and smiled. Her gaze studied the little cute thing as it chirped out it's call. She had wondered why the chirping of a bird was so beautiful in it's own right. Much like the French. She found it strange that the French actually praised her own language for sounding like "singing birds".

"Your pastries, ma'am," the waiter said as he handed the mysterious woman the treats. She nodded as she took the package, intentionally keeping a low profile. The rumours and hushed whispers confirmed her fears...

The doorbell tinkled it's cute little tune as somebody else entered the cafe. "Nunah!"

A boy came barreling into the girl, almost knocking them both off their feet. Both people twirled around twice before the heel of the girl's boots ground the spin to a halt. She shut her eyes to clear the dizziness, then took a glance at the boy's face. Smiled.

"Hai..."

The boy laughed. "Nunah, did you get them?" She nodded, then turned to the waiter, holding a finger up. The boy answered for the girl. "Um, she would like..." The girl pointed to herself using three fingers. "Nevermind that, she wants four ice coffees." The waiter nodded, taking a rather good look on the girl. She noticed and shrunk back a little, folding her arms across her chest. The female's companion noted her expression and clucked his tongue in disapproval, glancing at the waiter. He spoke up again, a worried tone in his voice. "I'm sorry sir. It's just that...she really doesn't like to be looked at like that." The waiter blinked, acknowledging him. He smiled and nodded in apology. "Sorry, I didn't know that," he admitted as he rubbed the back of his head. "But she's soo cute, so...I'll give you two something extra!" The boy instantly brightened up, grinning ear to ear. "Ah ha! Thank you sir! We'll appreciate it!" He beamed in gratitude and turned back to the girl as the waiter began to leave.

"Oh by the way!" The boy turned his head to the waiter as he smiled. "It's very rare to find gratitude as kind as yours these days, especially in these years and just after the war. 5 years... Anyways...this cafe was hit hard and well, business...as you can see, ain't the most productive around in France... Ah man, I rambled again. Auh..." The waiter walked to them again as a female waitress ambled up to him. "He means, 'This humble cafe thanks you both'. He he! We'll let you both off at half-price." The boy chuckled smugly. "Ah! But you would need the manager's permission."

At this, the waitress gave a cute giggle. "I am the manager, silly!" "...Oh..." the boy muttered in embarrassment, blushing a little. The girl to his side snorted lightly, giving a smile at his shyness. Other than that, she mysteriously stood mute. The female waitress walked up to the boy and strangely, gave him a hug. The bewildered boy blinked a few times, glancing to the other female at his side, who shrugged nonchalantly. His eyes softened in thanks and he returned the young girl's hug. "Thank you..." The male waiter returned to her side and placed a hand on her shoulder, giving a squeeze. "Come on, get a grip Sofia." The waitress nodded slowly, releasing her grip on the taller boy. "He reminds of d-dad..." she moaned as she started to cry. Sofia walked back to the other boy and clutched his neck, supporting herself as she began to sob uncontrollably. "Ky..." and repeating his name like a lifeline. The boy named Ky sighed as handed the two others their treats. "Please...come back soon you two," he said, as if truly wanted.

The other girl raised her head and stole a peek at the male, eyes softening greatly and she smiled warmly to the two. The boy at her side averted his eyes, not knowing what to do. The girl merely fished something from her pocket and placed it on the counter. Ky's eyes widened. "I-is that...Bl-? Are...are you Zeppian?" The silent female raised a finger to her lips, taking the iced coffees and the extra in her hand. She took the other boy's hand in her own free hand and turned as she headed out the door. The girl stopped few paces from the main display window of the small cafe to take a peek at the couple's faces.

The sight made her smile.

* * *

"Dizzy! Give me a hand here!" a browned haired girl called out.

The girl named Dizzy turned from her conversation from her friend, "I'll be there, April!" and quickly apologized to her. "Gomen May." The other smiled reassuringly. "He he! Okay, go help April, Dizzy. I gotta go find Johnny again and make sure if he's not hitting on any other women." Dizzy giggled at the slight joke, knowing full about Johnny's erratic habit, and nodded. "Okay, May! Just don't get lost like last time!" The girl named May fumed, giving a smug pout then smirking as she said a wicked comeback. "Oh, Dizzy? I wasn't the one who almost blew up an entire market last week, was I?" Dizzy furrowed her eyebrows in frustration, shaking her head to futilely rid herself of the incident that almost exposed her... she sighed. "You win this round May! I'll come up with a something you'll never forget next time! I'll impress the pants off you!"

May laughed and saluted her blue-haired friend. "Good Luck, my comrade in crime!" With those words, the girl who was May ran off to find her captain. Their captain.

_Meanwhile...somewhere else..._ XD

The figure in brown shuffled his way to another figure dressed the same way. "So..." the voice, obviously male, a young one at that, started. "Did you get it?" The other's face soured and he calmly removed the oversized cap off his head. "How many times do I have to tell you?" The older male voice chided. "NO!" The former man pouted like a child, much too old for his age. "Aw come on! You know you like it!" A snort issued from the elder's nose. "Janggun-nim will skin us alive if you even peep a word of that crap you call...h...hen...wha?" He faltered as he ran a hand through his hair, which seemed like it hadn't seen a bath for days, then stamped his foot loudly as he failed to recall. The other just stood smug, eyes turning lustful. "Come on comrade!" he goaded, "It's boobs, skin, and girls! What's not to like?!"

The former opened his mouth half-heartedly, stopped, then uttered one word with total disgust.

"Tents..."

The younger man made questionable face, then grinned once again. Perhaps bad thoughts were running wild in his zany mind. "But," he dictated, "they are fun!" The elder man retched in contempt. "You..." He paused as a hand reached and drew out a cigarette from his pocket. "Disgust..." His other hand held an American style lighter, a flick of the thumb and it lit. "Me..." Raised the death stick to his lips as the flame burned the tobacco leaves to ashes, taking a breath and letting pent-up anger go in one cloud. "Private." The younger man shrugged. "Oh well, can't satisfy everybody? Can I?" he chirped zippily. The happy expression on his face contorted darkly as he crossed his arms, feeling smug. "Except the girls...right, Sergeant?"

The Sergeant glared at the insubordinate. "I swear, if you imagine m-" The younger dismissed the warning and ranted on, daydreaming desire and lust overtaking him. "Ripe firm breasts...nice butts...smooth creamy skin...goddess faces..." The old man groaned in disgust as his friend gave him bad naughty images. Whispered, "Dear Private. We hate you. You are a disgrace to our country. Please board the next train out. Thank you." Sarcasm had it's benefits, but this torment was not one of them. They were good as dead. He sighed while mentally blocking out the pervert's words. Then heard cutesy squeaky noises. It must be him.

"Lee, it had better be those squeaky shoes of your's or else..."

The reply wasn't him.

* * *

They both sat on a haphazardly repaired bench on the park. It was immediately apparent that it had seen war, a dark old bloodstain pitted the metal armrest. Strangely enough, the park itself was empty. People went about their daily lives but they could not help but feel fear, as if an enemy recently defeated were to rise up once again. The numerous propaganda posters with war illustrations confirmed that. Several of a faceless enemy clawing at the feet of a brave soldier...a bloodied youth offering a helping hand...and most striking of all. A single black poster with golden eyes that seemed to torment the soul. Underneath the two eyes was a caption: "They are watching you." So they sat alone, together.

"Nunah..." a male voice said, "Can I ask you something?"

The girl beside the boy nodded slightly, making sure nobody else noticed them. The boy blinked slowly and touched the girl's outstretched hand, making sure he wasn't too sudden. He sighed once and opened his lips.

"Why are we here?"

The question was simple, yet it had the girl baffled. All her calm demeanor instantly drained away at that moment, events replaying once more in her mind. The question could be applied to many different things, like the existence of life, a starry night, a cold winter, a fun party, a well deserved vacation, a life at home, a military service, with friends, with family... or simply alone. Her brain was racked as every possible answer scattered like beads. Why are they here? She lowered her head, expression darkened by her long silky hair.

"I...I don't know..." the girl finally replied, her sweet innocent voice hiding something. The boy turned his eyes to her, worried etched onto his features. "How could you not know nunah?" he asked gently, "You're our leader, you resolve issues when we need it, you protect us, care for others, empathize with us, you're gentle, hate the sun, despise stars and stripes, you know everything as a soldier!" The girl stayed silent as the boy hopelessly gazed into her face, searching for the truth. The female barely met eye contact, her posture becoming reticent and withdrawn. She had nothing to give him.

"You're my sister..."

The girl's eyes softened and her expression wilted into sadness as tears threatened to drip. The boy immediately took his sister into his arms, encircling her waist and pressed her body tightly with his own. A hand ran the length tresses of black as the girl shivered despairingly, instinctively burying deeper into his being as both sought comfort. The female responded by moving closer to him so he could hug her tighter. Both siblings uttered nothing, fearful that local police would recognize and arrest them on the spot. Eyes scanned the perimeter to assure nobody had witnessed. The silence that accompanied was almost unbearable, as if they were wanted criminals. The two held their embrace, time had stopped for them, only feelings the beating of their hearts and the intimate connection a family could only have.

The boy opened his eyes and verted them to his elder sister's face as he broke the embrace, being mindful of her emotional state. He gave a sincere look and waited for the girl to stop shaking. She drew in a deep breath and lifted her head, the hurt look causing the boy to look away. The female felt his hands begin drawing back, until her own fingers clasped his gently. The boy deeply sighed. "Nunah...we're just two lonely people in this world. I only have just one sibling..." He took her into a tight embrace.

"And I love you..."

The girl whimpered as the effect of his words hit her, felt her lower spine disappear as her upper half collapsed into his arms, crying at the unfairness of it all. They had noticed, ever since the war had ended, people were still in fear of the long dead enemy...families struggling to buy bread...communities picking up the pieces...children begging in the streets...underground crime booming, prompting police forces around the world to become fanatical in their pursuits... worst of all... If anybody so much as mentioned an empathetic attitude, the two siblings had overheard, toward "them", the person and their immediate family was arrested on the spot. Taken to whoever knows where, that was a mystery. They both guessed they were secret facilities where the "prisoners" would be routinely tortured, forced to "confess" for their crimes against humanity, then executed without trial. '_The war was inhumane for both sides_...' she thought, recalling a Frenchman's words. She relaxed her body as her brother's hands roamed about her waist, giving squeezes occasionally to let them both know they were still there...

A hand slowly pulled out a dull red tinted medal from the collar of her coat, obviously a military award due to the large size. It was an old styled piece of metal, the intricate gold neckchain sections clinking lightly together, as she turned it to look at the front. It showed two crossed weapons that did not bear any resemblance to the swords and magic of today, imposed on the weapons was the symbol every being seemed to fear.

"Nunah...?" the boy whispered into her ear while disengaging from their intimate hug. The girl dully blinked, as if contemplating what to do with the award, then surrendered as she hid it from prying view once again. Her hands felt cold as ice, despite it being summertime. Why were her hands...? "You can drink the ice coffee or I will." She peeked down and found both hands tightly gripping the plastic cup of cold coffee, the dew droplets conformed around her fingers. The girl peeked back up from her lap to her brother's agonizingly smug face. He crossed his arms as he nodded his cap down, making his appearance look overwhelming arrogant. The sister made a sour face, annoyed at his little act. Well, she could show him who was the boss! Without a word, she stood up defiant, popped open the lid, brung it to her lips, and chugged it.

She instantly regretted it.

Gods, it was cold! Not a chilly cold but a... The brother simply watched on curiously as he silently noted his sister's stoic expression as she continued to drink, but her eyelids and cheeks told otherwise. He struggled to hold back his mirth as he imagined his sibling's torment, the literally mind-numbing experience wreaking havoc with her nervous system and throat. As soon as the last drops dissolved from view, the sister flung her arm to the side, still holding the empty cup in a death grip, and made a face filled with pain. The brother barely held back now, his mirth leaking out in sputters and giggles, as he waited for the inevitable outcome of a frozen headache.

It never came.

Instead, the female composed herself calmly and opened her eyes, which were surprisingly normal. Her body was not shaking nor her face twitching. It was as if she gulped down lukewarm coffee just for the heck of it. Disappointment filled his heart as he expected total system overload and shutdown. He frowned. "Aww...that sucked..." The girl smirked a smug one of her own as she huffed. "See? I told you, Su..." she stopped as she saw her brother collapse on the ground, laughing. She began to yell defensively and instantly discovered why. Her breath was coming out in thick frosty wisps that could mostly likely be seen kilometers away. The sister cursed in defeat as wisps issued from her chilled teeth. That was no help either as her brother only laughed harder, somehow standing up and doubling over at the same time. After a failed attempt to silence him with words, she waited until he stopped laughing at her pride. Which he did. "I'm sorry nunah...you have to admit, that was funny..." he said in that happy-go-lucky cheery voice of his. The brother offered a mocking hand to his sister. "Peace?"

The fool.

"No," she whispered lowly. Her left hand reached into her coat pocket and pulled out a military style field cap, placing it on her head and playfully glaring at him. The features of a fanatical officer were suddenly all there, previous looks of an innocent girl replaced by a hardened static face that would probably kill without question. Her right hand picked up a lengthy metal object that was obviously a weapon, as evident by the drum-like saddle in the middle and shiny gold feeding into it like a monster. She packed the weapon over her shoulders and smiled innocently at her brother, the kind fragile expression returning once more.

"I should be running...right?"

She nodded.

* * *

The pirate girl repeated her question once more to the brown clad men, who both currently looked alarmed.

"I won't repeat myself again. Have you seen a man in black coat and a wooden sword?"

She merely looked on as she began to get agitated with these two people, they had moved closer and bowed their heads, speaking in hushed whispers and expressions hidden by the bill of their caps. The two further isolated themselves by shoving hands glumly in their pockets, kicking invisible stones dejectedly. Now May got rather angry at times, thus leading to unintentional fights and the police after them; but these two people, who wore the standard issue uniforms, albeit under a different colour, were ridiculous. Two grown men in the police force acting like babies. People were sure odd these days...

"If you two would just stop acting like emo babies and help me out, I just might thank you for it!" the girl May fumed.

Not exactly the best thing to say. One of the men, the younger one, shot his head up, a scowl upon his face as he flexed his fists tensely. May frowned at the aspect, she knew by the look on his face and the way he walked he meant to hurt her. Looked like an inevitable fight was coming. She would be dammed if she surrendered to the scumbag. Her hand slowly made it's way toward the hidden weapon kept at her disposal...

"Hey May! Where are you?" a voice called out.

Dizzy. No, she couldn't be here. These men May confronted...she had heard horror stories of what the the local police forces would do to people from Johnny. They would hurt the both of them if given chance. They could capture them, detain them, torture them for hours, get them to confess about a nonexistent crime, and finally kill them both. Or worse...

May tried to warn her friend. "Dizzy! Get away! These guys are local police. They're dangerous!" It was no use as Dizzy saw her friend and the men, each in fighting stances. The girl's curious expression fell into a mask of sadness and despair, the tears already welling up in her eyes. Dizzy did not understand why. Why did people have to fight? To kill? Couldn't they see each other as human beings, capable to love and cherish just as much than to hate and kill? Why all the paranoia? Couldn't humans see the war was over? Why? She ran up to May's side and spread her arms out, prepared to defend her. She shouted to the angry men, "If you are going to hurt somebody, let it be me! Not my friend here!" Dizzy shut her eyes as she expected the first blow to hit her.

"I think the young lady has stated enough, don't you think?"

Dizzy opened her eyes...and saw another man, an even younger one, clasping the arms of both. The older men seemed to tightly quiver at his presence, expressions of fear upon their faces. Dizzy began to ponder why...then she saw it.

A flash of re...

"I don't _think_ so, Mister 'I know how to control' nothing!" a stern female voice chided.

Both Jellyfish members whirled a one-eighty to barely glimpse a flash of brown. When they turned back to the men, a woman had stormed right up to the youngest male, tearing his grip from his victims. Both men gasped in relief, nursing their crushed arms. Several foot taps later and an akimbo from the girl caused the youngest man to avert his direct gaze.

Well, there went the plans for the week.

"You're mistaken if you think you can just lie there n' get out of this one!" the chiding continued as the man frantically thought out ways to extract himself out. Unfortunately for him, his ways were ripped from his mind as guilt overpowered his will to lie.

"You promised to take us out to the city! Even find us a nice place to eat out and see the sights! I want to see the Arch du Triumph in Paris tonight!" The woman clasped her hands against her chest anxiously, as if hurt emotionally. "Do you know how long I have been waiting for this?"

"Fifteen years?" one of other males quipped. A slap in the face and he was down. The last survivor laughed at the entire scene, minding his own business as he calmly smoked a cancer stick. As for the chided man, he quickly faced the woman to confront her. "I...I don't mind if just the three of you went together. I'll even jump you guys there!" he desperately offered. The woman didn't budge.

"No means no!"

The man cowered, sorely defeated.

"Putting my feelings aside, don't you know just how long Sarge and Donut had been looking forward to this?!" the female said, placing her arms akimbo. "They were so ecstatic, they even wore their best uniforms in this muggy heat!" With those words, she walked right up to the young man and gave him the Adama Glare. "No matter what, you're not getting out of this one!" A sense of dread overwhelmed the other and he avoided eye contact, shaking in his boots. "O...okay..." he meekly whispered.

The female smiled in victory, her eyes hinting love. She gave a little chuckle and walked ahead of the other men proudly. "Now that is settled, why don't we hurry up and-"

"Uhm...excuse me..." a young female voice interrupted. "But...why are you here?"

Everybody froze in their tracks.

"Oh...uh...why ask, ma'am?" a hesitant female voice mumbled in a heavy accent.

Dizzy shrugged slowly, a manner picked up from the pirates during her stay. The girl could sense the female she was talking to was highly alert and perhaps fearful. But of what? She relaxed her posture a little, in hopes to calm the older woman down. It didn't work as the youngest by the woman's side clung to her like glue, his sudden aggressiveness nonexistent. The two others took their positions by her sides, ensuring nobody could sneak up on them. It was as the half-Gear feared: they were totally loyal to that woman.

Yet, she was the only one scared. Why?

"I just simply want to know. That's all," Dizzy answered back calmly, adding a little smile as well. May moved to counter her friend but a watchful eye from the half-Gear ended that. Nothing sudden was to happen today. The other female took a steep breath and blinked nervously before glancing to her buddies. She nodded once and they automatically relaxed, hints of smiles crossing their lips. As soon as they relaxed, the woman began to warily walk toward Dizzy and May. The Gear noticed a scar just below the woman's right eye, it appeared similar to the numerous scars on Badguy. She suspected the woman had a lot more than what met the eye: her tall imposing figure, the shoulder patches on her coat coloured a brilliant gold, her ankle length hair was tied with a simple blue cloth, she moved with a strange gait that was more fitting of a simple girl instead. And lastly...her eyes held a melancholy appearance in them.

'_She must've been through the war...or lost her family_...' Dizzy thought sympathetically. The half-Gear looked at the woman's face again, noting her stunning beauty for the first time. '_Or worse_...'

"Yeh...?" she softly spoke. "Mw-uhm...what you w...want...?"

Dizzy warily eyed May, taking note on how similar the woman's and her pirate friend's faces appeared. It was almost as if they were long lost sisters... The half-Gear held her hands out to show she did not mean any harm. "We don't intend you harm, Miss. My friend and I here are just wondering why members of the local police are out in a remote area like this."

The other female blinked, considering the statement carefully. Her hand clenched as she closed her eyes in deep thought. She took a breath and opened her eyes again, this time full of ennui, giving a disapproving frown to the pirates. The woman's posture became rigid and snappish as she leered upon Dizzy and May, giving a cold stare, making the two back off. It was clear just who had authority now.

"Did we screw up somehow and piss this policewoman off?" May whispered to her blue-haired friend who didn't reply back. The half-Gear was too busy thinking up ways to get out of her mistake. The two friends instantly stood at attention when the woman gave a rough snort, glaring as if they were criminals caught in the act.

They were so screwed...

"Hu!" the female huffed, and thus started chiding them in a language Dizzy nor May could _not_ understand. As the policewoman's voice intensity increased, so did her arms waving about. She was cut off in her chiding as another policeman clamped a hand over her mouth. He gave a quick smile of apology and chuckled. He sure appeared a lot more friendly than his female counterpart. Maybe they could walk out of this one alive. "What she means is, 'You two should go home, it's getting late and your parents must be worried sick'..."

He could also speak English.

May stepped up to him. "We're looking for somebody. Our father got lost somewhere in the marketplace. Could you give us the quickest way to go there?" Dizzy balked. '_Our father...?!_' The policeman furrowed his eyes in suspicion. "Are you sure? You could be jumped by-"

A two hundred pound anchor was his answer. "We're covered."

"Oh. Well in that case, head out to your left until you see a rundown bench in the park. It should have a rusted armrest. The market is to the right, where all people are usually seen," he cited with a nervous smile.

May grinned in victory. "Arigatou, Policeman-sama!" she said cheerily while taking the directions in a hurry, accidentally leaving Dizzy behind. All four police members glanced back and forth to the two girls, puzzled at the strangeness of events. The female/male pair dumbly blinked, stunned for a brief moment before they disentangled themselves. One of the men gave a comment, summing up the pair's thoughts as he pulled out a cigarette. The last simply laughed, dragging on his death stick before releasing grey smoke.

May was already half-way before she stopped to turn around. "Come on onee-san! Dad's lost somewhere!" Dizzy blinked back to reality check. She hollered back a quick reply, then turned to the police to thank them...

Already, they were gone.

The half-Gear pondered if the police just weren't an illusion or if they didn't have backup waiting to strike. Come to think of it, just why that woman's attitude changed so fast? Dizzy scanned the area for any trace of the four, hoping they were not just hiding to catch them. Only after silence confirmed the fact, did she move out.

* * *

-_Chalkak_!- A snap of a camera...capturing the face of a young woman.

"Myeong-il Lee. Born June 25th, 2154."

Another snap... this time, a young male teen.

"Her younger brother, Shuu-Ha Lee. Born March 14th, 2156."

Two snaps. Two captures of two males smoking cigarettes.

"Their two childhood friends, Jin-Seok Yoon and Ahn-Rin Kim. Dates of birth unknown."

The camera lowered to reveal two men in the plain clothes, but tone of speech suggested they were part of the French police. One of the men smirked smugly, satisfied at their catch. "Are you sure they are the Zero unit? The same Zero unit who defeated those freak monsters?" The other man nodded. "Red eyes, black hair, wings, and brown uniforms. There's no doubt about it. It's them." He rammed his point home as he fished out a small cell phone.

"Banzai to Another DAY. We've found Memoirs. Repeat, we have found Memoirs. Over..."

* * *

"Captain, we have some news for you. And it's not pretty..."

Captain Ky Kiske of the International Police Force, France Division looked up from his stack of paperwork to his adviser. From just the grave tone of voice and frantic footsteps while running told him it "wasn't just pretty". Ky knew either a weapon had gone loose somehow or an entire army was readying for war again. He certainly hoped it was the latter. The adviser rummaged in his suit to pull out a few photos. "We got these from our volunteers a few minutes ago. Take a look."

Ky nodded as his adviser haphazardly tossed the photos over his paperwork. The Captain shifted through the photographs with a steely gaze, studying each one intently. His blue eyes slightly widened as seemed to recognize one picture, then returned to normal as he placed the photos down. "Thank you officer. That will be all." The adviser began to panic. "But...bu si-" Ky took note and immediately told him to get some rest. The adviser, of course, protested but the steeled look in his eyes made him retreat. He immediately saluted Ky and quietly walked out. After a moment of silence, a hand slowly lifted one of the photos to study it. It showed a clear image of a female face looking blankly at a military style award. The only problem was...

'_Why is that award in the shape of Gear symbol_?!'

* * *

_Somewhere in China..._

"Excellent job. Stay put and we will debrief you ASAP. Over."

"Copy that AD. Over and Out."

The message ended with a click. Amid all the people bustling about and waiters running to and fro, an unknown figure set down the huge radio he used and smirked to himself.

"I've finally found you..."

* * *

AN: Heh. My 1st attempt at a Guilty Gear fic...XD Not so good, I know. I suppose things will improve from here on out. If you see any plot line error-orz, notify and help me out here. Thanks!

Language Note: If you're wondering what the hell the brother said to his sister, it's "Nunah." As most of you have (or about to) figured out, it's Korean. For "elder sister". :3c

Character Notes

None. lol

YES! There are other Asian countries than China or Japan, BEEYOTCHZZ! Or as a communist would scream it...

IN SOVIET RUSSIA, REVIEWS OWN YOU!! XD


	2. Who are They?

**Notes**: Could be better. Here goes.

**Disclaimer**: Still nope. Game creator Daisuke owns Guilty Gear. The awesome manhwa-ga duo artist Park Sung-Woo and writer Ihm Dal-Young own "Zero The Beginning of the Coffin".

* * *

The

"Talking! XD"

'_thoughts_...'

-_SFX, sound, or kick butt action_-

_Location change or sumthing else_

Beginning

* * *

**Zero Memoirs of the Circle**

**Circle 2: Who Are They?**

**April 14th, 2182  
Somewhere in Europe...**

A shrill whistle pierced the bright day. Rough voices with an air of authority called out to the crowd. Police and volunteers handed out posters, warning the public to stay alert for any susicpious activity. Officers questioned the normal civilians, asking for a lead. For many, they didn't care. They just wanted to get provisions and quickly go home to support their war-ravaged families.

For Ky Kiske of the Internationale Police Force, he needed a lead as soon as possible. Just an hour before, he had been notified of a possible threat to, not just France, but the entire world. He had a few bad imaged photos and dug up a two year old report, but that was all. As intuitive as the man was, he could not see the connection between the photo of the woman and the report. But was worse for him was the fact that the threat had originated in one overlooked country, caught between China and the remnants of the island once known as Japan.

Korea.

The country had proved itself nearly invincible in their ancient past, having survived everything thrown against it. Her people were brilliant and extremely proud of their heritage, bolstered by the fact that everytime something had completely laid waste to the point others would collapse and capitulate, the little country would stagger back to it's feet everytime and move on. They never attacked anybody without reason and sought only to keep to itself and defendborders, earning it the nickname, "Hermit Kingdom". With all these admirable traits also came a dark one: because of the constant attacks in their past, they could be itching for vengeance... They were the only country with a 7 million man army, more than enough to take on the flying colony of Zepp. Still armed with the relics of the past, simply known as "Blacktech", there were rumours that a legendary commander had defeated the enemy. And worst of all...

There was still a "North" and "South" Korea.

Both "countries" had nearly killed each other in the 1950s Korean War, all for stupid ideology. Both had employed dictators in the past, oppressed the public severely, distort half-truths and lies, claimed themselves to be "free" while condemning the other. One had stopped under watchful eyes, the other continued it's crimes under the iron fist of an absolute ruler. And the world never cared. Ky personally thought the Korean situation anddivision was a tragic love story. Orphaned siblings who claimed to hate each other with all their hearts, but resorting to meet each in other in secret because they deeply loved each other. He frowned at the comparison. Since when did he start liking incest? '_God, our Savior. Forgive me_...' Ah, it was good to be French. After all, they did say, "Korean is like birds singing..."

Still, Ky pushed the thoughts aside and continued on his task. Serving the people of the world for a greater good.

* * *

She briskly walked amongst the crowd, trying to finda lost one. It annoyed her that she could lose things in a heartbeat. What the girl was trying to find however was something she held dear to her heart, something she would never gain back if lost. It tugged at her emotions considerably and broke her heart everytime. At the same time, she tried her hardest to avoid the hushed whispers andfeared rumours that plagued the entire public like a virus. Heck, it was even all over the UN networks. Surely, they knew. It wouldn't matter anyways...she needed to find-

"Nunah! Odiyoh? Nunah!" a male voice called out.

The girl spun around to face more people milling about. "Suu! Suu! I'm right here!" Her heart raced faster as she feared losing him. "Nunah?! Odi?! I can't see you!" She couldn't lose him. "I'm in the crowd Suu!" Never. "Nu...nunah!" They loved each other too much. "Suu!"

Somehow, the crowd had magically parted a bit enough so the girl partly saw a man in a brown uniform. She immediately diverted energy to sprinting and sure enough, he saw and braced for painful impact. The young girl threw herself at the man and tightly embraced, crushing her body against his. She gazed up from his shoulder and sniffed once. "Don't ever scare me like that again, Suu..." she chided gently, more relieved than berating. Hands tightened their link again, pleading for him to never to get lost. The man named Suu smiled kindly to the girl and he hugged back and breathed a sigh of relief, revelling in her warmth. "I know...nunah."

A voice scoffed humourously, somewhat disgusted at the two. "Heh! Get a room ya two!"

At this, the two whirled their newfound anger at the crowd, glaring daggers. They tightened their fists in anger and faced whoever the fuck dared say. The female threw her gaze left and right for the perpetrator as she prepared to unleash hell. Gnashed teeth set in. "Just..."

The girl rawr'd in a foreign language at the crowd, which made everybody stop dead in their tracks, staring at her as if she was crazy. It was evident she was smoldering mad at someone or something. The young man at the girl's side held his hands out, pleading her to calm down. The girl merely overlooked him as her shuddering hands roughly pulled out a wicked long knife, brandishing it in front of her professionally. Fingers twirled the blade once, twice, three times before coming to stop, aimed threateningly toward the crowd. They instantly shrunk back in fear, the crazed look in her eyes telling one thing.

"I'll fucking _kill_ you!"

An unsmoked cigarette fell to the ground and a black boot erased it from existence. Sure enough, a well built man wearing an all black trenchcoat, fedora, and sunglasses, stepped out amid the congregation. The woman tensed on edge, taking a combative stance and glaring him down. The crowd quickly parted to avoid confrontation between the raging woman andthis man, leaving the pair enough space for a potential crime scene. The black clad man slowly approached the girl, hands up to show non-aggression. Too bad she was feeling a bit moody today. With the latter's weapon grip shaking in anger, she pointed her blade at the offender, immediately demanding an explanation.

"Well..." the man remarked, "I do believe we have a problem here..."

She grit her teeth in anger and stamped her feet to emphasize her point, cursing him in a foreign language. The man laughed naturedly, whether to himself or the woman's anger, nobody knew. He smiled, the sunglasses preventing the woman from reading him like a book. "Hey babe, I'm not the angry one now? Am I?" The female scoffed at his words, obviously not accepting his explanation. Her fingers merely tapped the blade she held as she continued to glare him down.

"Point taken..."

The female smirked, satisfied at her victory. It was short-lived as the trenchcoated man finished his lazy gait, directly facing the woman. The female lowered her weapon slightly, uncertian about going against her current threat now. He stood a good 10 centimeters above her and had a lot of muscle mass. Which were two things she nor her male companion really possessed. Continuing on, she noted under his sunglasses, his gaze was steady and calm. Even breathing andposture suggested his intention was to defend. But against what?

She then finally realized her own aggressive stance. Her feet were spread apart shoulder width for balance and a running start. The knife in her right hand was blade down, conforming evenly to her arm. For all she could have done, the knife would be hidden in her sleeve as she ran at him, feinting a punch. At that moment, it would flip into her hand and easily stabbed any part of his body. Thus gaining some unwanted attention and a rather bloody mess. Even so, she studied the congregation of the marketplace. Husbands and wives, friends and foes, locals and police...

Brothers and sisters.

Her gaze turned toward the young man she loved... and smiled. Hands calmly sheathed the knife back to it's former place. With a soft click, her aggression dissipated. There would be no blood spilt forth today.

Without so much as words from both, the woman and the coated man merely passed by each other as if nothing ever happened.

* * *

"May..." a female voice inquired, "Do you know who those people were?"

Two girls ambled about the crowded market, buying what little provisions they could afford and saving the most for later. Their intent gazes also suggested they were looking for somebody, scanning the crowd for any sign. When that failed, they reverted to talking again.

"How should I know Dizzy?" the other girl replied, having absolutely no clue. "Those people were just local police." At this, the girl named Dizzy fidgeted a bit. "But...those people. Their faces were similar to yours, May." May rolled her eyes at this. She sighed in frustration and crossed her arms. "Dizzy, do you really think those police are relatives of mine simply because they look Asian? That's like comparing Jam and me." She furrowed her eyebrows in ennui and snorted once. Turned slightly to see her friend gazing away, a hurt guilty expression upon her. "Oh...ah, yes. I forgot, May. Sor-"

May interrupted Dizzy with a cheery hug, which caught her off guard and lightly surprised. "You don't have to apologize Diz! People make mistakes, that's what being human is!" the younger girl assured with a laugh. The young Gear child was confused at her friend's words, but that's what was being a human was about...right?

"_Well, half anyway_..." a voice in the back her mind whispered.

* * *

"Wasn't that fun, Suu?" a woman appearing to be in her twenties asked.

A man just equally as young nodded to the woman walking slightly ahead. He had to admit, the day was fun...but it wasn't without much hilarious angst and annoying complaining...usually from himself, as much as he hated to admit. Ironically enough...

"Ya! Can you two please quit staring at each other and help us here?!"

The two others behind them had the worst of it, seeing as they were forced to carry everything. "Help?" the woman inquired, her voice as clear as another day. She turned her gaze slightly to the two men lagging behind them. She blinked once, as if to assess their predicament. They currently had their arms full of the stuff they had brought. Products ranging from keychains, books, cases, bags, weapons, the cute little teacups of priceless value, and the PSP. Oh, add the smileys as well. Their steps were...erratic, to say the least. She smiled.

"Okay, I'll help you two out!" the female calmly offered. She turned her direction around to face the two men and changed step. Extended her arms out and without so much complaint, she gently plucked the paraphernalia from the arms of both. As soon as the materials were passed on to the girl, both men groaned loudly in much needed relief. The two laughed in sarcasm but thankful that she had taken the handicaps off them. "Hey! You could'veacted a bit sooner, Lee!" one chided. The other nodded in agreement. "I swear, you've never changed one bit! Always the same helpful girl you've been the last time I saw you!" The man let out a tired breath and glanced ahead to the man in front. "And your brother..." A smile appeared on his lips. "You two've grown so much..."

She gave a mirthful giggle, smiling happily. "You're welcome, ya two..."

The group continued to walk along the marketplace, taking in the sights and sounds of Europe.

"Bonjour! Would you like some tea?"

More specifically, France.

A Frenchman had waltzed up to the group, offering free samples of tea. Why? Because...everybody likes tea. He presented a small cup to the leader of the group. "Ah no...ask my sister over there. She prefers tea." And subsequently moved to the only female in the motley crew. "Tea mademoiselle?" The young woman's eyes brightened up, her hands moving up to cover her mouth in delight. She let out a cry of surprise and joy, thanking the French man as she daintily plucked the teacup from the impossibly balanced silver platter he held. The girl took a sip from the cup, letting the flavor set in her palate. "Strawberry? Very nice." The slow deliberate tone of her words only meant one thing. "Tw-"

Her body shivered as she felt something watching her...them. It was enough to freeze her actions as it loomed closer. Time stopped for her as an unknown overwhelming force brushed past her. Like her, it was just as wary of it's surroundings as it seemed to search for something. The girl beat back her fear and scanned the marketplace for any threat to her andher men. A wisp of blond hair was her only answer. She prepared to unleash hell if necessary, tapping the-

"Whunsu?" one of the men asked, "You okay?"

The girl blinked to reality. Maybe it had been just a cold spell or her own paranoia of strangers. No matter, it was still extremely strong. Hiding her discontent as fast as possible, she turned her attention back to the Frenchman selling tea. Two fingers flashed, her smiling face only reinforcing her happiness. "Oh! Two please."

All the men facefaulted again and prepared to pull out the wallets.

"Sir, that's the only voice recording we have..." a young male voice reported.

Fists slammed upon the table, startling the occupants of the restaurant. "What do you mean that's the only recording?! A freaking General of the only Army in the world shouldn't that elusive!!" the older voice shouted at the young man before him. Everybody set eyes upon a table near the entrance, wondering who was making the racket. A cigarette butt was crushed onto the ashtray, grey vapours swirling about the smoker's fingers. The skin was tensed and applying hard pressure. No doubt this particular character was more than angered.

"She just came out of isolation weeks ago! _Weeks_!" the almost hoarse voice hissed. "UN satis could've have pointed her damn location by now!" He slammed his fists upon the table once more, rattling the utensils and obvious scaring the other customers. The mysterious man shoved himself up from his seat andslowly walked around. "We have all technology in the world! She doesn't! We are more advanced! She is not! We have more money, better training, more food, more comforts, import, export, and even enjoy protection! She does not have ANY of that!" He ambled over to his subordinate and glared straight in his eyes. The other man, fearing reprisal, instantly stood straight, looking ahead. The angered one merely tapped his fingers and reaching into his coat pocket, took out dark sunglasses. He calmly fit them over his eyes andglared at his subordinate, wrath at it's limits.

"So tell me, Park." The man named Park sucked in a silent breath, knowing he was doomed. "If the General is truly alive, then _why_ hasn't anybody-"

The crackling of a radio permeated the air anda light female voice barely made out beyond the static. It was faint, but there. Another young man set down the makeshift headset and looked up to the angered man. "I have it sir! Coming from...23 latitude and...98 longitude." Perfect. The angered man snorted once and said, "Thank you Kim. That's good." He frowned again. "As for you..." Park felt a hard force crush his bowels, causing him to double over on his knees, coughing andstruggling for breath. The pain was almost unbearable, his chest hurt, his heart pulsed faster to compensate, and his abdomen felt like it was ripped open. He felt a hand force his chin upwards to look into his own reflection off the dark glasses. "You'd better do as I say, Staff Sergeant Park Kang-Ho." He felt another force, this time a slap to the face. It wasn't the pain which hurt him, rather, the humiliation in front of other people. "Or you're never gonna live to see another day. Do I make myself clear?!" Park's voice trifled a meagerly hidden disgust of, "Yes sir." "What, can't hear you?" "Yes _sir_!"

The mysterious man smirked, satisfied he could put others in their place. A steeled glare completely silenced the normal customers staring at them, forcing them to ignore what had happened. The man moved to the table once again and picked up what looked like a black tube witha box sticking out of it. A spare slab of metal with gold cylinders only confirmed just what he was armed with. Blacktech. He slung the weapon over his shoulder and without even bothering to notify his two other subordinates, walked out the door.

Park, gritting his teeth through the pain, mentally sighed. He forced himself up with his two hands, shrugging off help from the other. "I don't need it, Yideungbyung Kim. Leave me alone." Kim's voice didn't give. "Park, if we're gonna survive him and his anger issues, then we have to stick together. You know that!" No, Kim was merely a teen fresh from training. Just why was he assigned this mission anyways? Park Kang-Ho let out a defeated exhale. "No, Kim. He's just too damn obsessed with finding that General." Kim furrowed his eyebrows in worry. "Well..." he offered, "What if the General turns out to be a kind and caring person? I mean, there is a possibility she just might act like Sumire from Jeiro. She is a girl after all..." Kim brightened up, mischief gleaming in his eyes. "Hey, she just might be the perfect girl you're looking for! Eh, what do you think?" The older man sighed once again, a look into the innocent teen's eyes and he just had to hope. He smiled. "Yeah, maybe." The pain didn't seem so bad anymore.

Yideungbyung Kim pat Park's back in appreciation. "There there! I bet you hundred thousand won, that she'll be perfect for you!" He helped his friend up and dusted him off, grabbing the grey coloured longarm resting on the table edge. "Let's go, Park!" Park nodded and followed after into the sunlight, heading to a city in France...

'_No. You're wrong._ _She's not the one for me. Our government won't allow that...they'll never allow it._

_..._

_'You hear me? Never...'_

* * *

AN: Okay, 2nd chapter done. Took a while, I know. And HOMG, this story has a plot to it?! Yep, whenever you have two mysterious teams from Korea, the IPF, France, and the Mayship'screw, it's bound to be dark.

And thank you Dizzy-Kiske for the short but wonderful review! It would be greatly appreicated if you could tell me what I'm doing wrong, whether it be out of character-ness, or something completely different altogether.

Extra: By this time you've figured out the main characters are Korean, right? lawls Stick around, as the perspectives from them are gonna range from the lowest deepest darkest pits of misery, to Cloud Nine. And then some in between.

Third chapter GET!


	3. It Begins

**Notes**: E-books. Bane of pure financial evil. And a sign that your frakked. At least...for manhwa companies.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own. Game creator Daisuke owns Guilty Gear. The awesome manhwa-ga duo artist Park Sung-Woo and writer Ihm Dal-Young own "Zero The Beginning of the Coffin". And "Another Day" belongs to Forte Escape and the wonderful DJMAX vocalist, Miya. :D

* * *

Of

"Talking! XD"

'_thoughts_...'

-_SFX, sound, or kick it action_-

_Location change or sumthing else_

The Circle

* * *

**Zero Memoirs of the Circle**

**Circle 3: It Begins...**

**April 15th, 2182  
Late in night  
Somewhere in France...**

The group had settled down for the night. They had rented two rooms in a local inn quite easily, despite rumours that had spread like a propane fueled fire. Owning to the whispers and posters, people were warned of a mysterious person with three male members. They wore all brown clothing and it was said the leader of them sometimes wore black to show superiority.

"Suu? Are you done playing that Pony of yours?" a female voice called from window.

Strings of banjo notes in beat to music confirmed the complete opposite. "I need that Max Combo nunah!"

The girl sighed. Fingers closed the windowsill as she threw her body upon the bed, crawling over to the boy playing the game system. Bent lower to see his amazingly focused face. The expression was amusing. His lips were tightened in a smug grin, eyebrows raised in anticipation, eyes completely blanked with getting that Max Combo. A peek over the system screen in blazing fast hands confirmed he was in the thousands and counting.

It was too bad he was never gonna get it soon.

The Pony Portable game system screen blanked, cut off from the real world. "Nnnnoooo!" And the boy crashed down to reality as well. "My-" Before he could get hysterics started, he found himself interrupted by a pair of arms around his waist and a female voice shoosing him, drawing his body closer to calm him. Felt a warm presence enter his being and reassure everything was alright, replacing the shock experienced just seconds before. Slow breaths pressed against his back as the female behind him lightly yawned. "It's late night, darling brother..." her tired voice stated matter-of-factly. "Please, get some sleep." The man pouted cutely. "But sis, I-" Again, he was interrupted with a forceful hug, knocking some of the air he inhaled in reverse. "Shh! You can get your Max Combo tomorrow. Go to sleep. I'm tired as well, so that's an order!" The former let out a disheartened aww. "Is my elder sister so tired that she can't keep pace with a lowly human?" his smug voice teased.

No response.

"Nu...nah?"

He peeked back to see his sister peacefully snoozing on his back. She was out of it, far into blissful dreamland. Eyes landed on the Portable game system beside him. Then guilty cut to his sister. He smiled as he gently moved her limp body back under the soft wool covers, then slipped under himself. The moonlight luminated her sleeping face, going back ages to a time lost. The brother gave one last smile, before kissing his elder sister goodnight. "I love you, nunah..." He let his eyes close.

The game was left on the table, untouched.

* * *

"This is the place. I'm sure of it." a low brooding voice said.

A young voice, not even out of teenage years. "Are sure, Colonel? I mean...look at it. Doesn't it make more sense that the General would rent an expensive place rather than this..." A glance up and down. "Run down inn, dontcha think?"

An orange glow and puff of grey smoke. "No, this is where they're staying. According to the report..." The unfastening of a button and ruffle of papers. "'Subject "Zero" is supposed to be humble and possibly even loving to normal people. Hates rich, reactionaries, gangs, and will do anything to stop them. Rumoured to be the hero of Korea in the Holy War. Currently leads a group of four, including self.'" Another shuffle of papers. "There's no doubt. It's one I-, er, we've been looking for."

Another male voice, this one aged in early thirties. "But sir, if the General's a humble person as the report says, then shouldn't she be naturally kind-hearted?"

A scoff, followed by a sarcastic laugh. "Don't be stupid boy. She believes in communism. Red pinkos are naturally evil because they mess up everything. Heh...and the propaganda as well. I won't be sur-" A hand was held. "Wait!" the youngest voice said, "I hear something...like... singing...?" The mid-aged voice chided the younger. "Kim. Don't be naive. Almost nobody sings at-"

"..._Another day and tell my soul to be blazing sun_..."

"Night..."

The youngest voice gasped. "Oh my God, it's Miya! Miya, Miya, Miya! I love Another Day!" Fumbling and sounds of fanboiness. "Shh! Shh! Lemme hear! Ahhh, I love Miya!"

Dead silence except for the singing. "_Then the lights of time will cross over my eyes_, _over my eyes_. _Heart will go another day and tell my soul to be falling star_..._then the stream of life will send me higher_..._to the end_..."

The melancholy voice carried into the night as the singing stopped, but soon faded away. A disheartened moan from the youngest. "Aww...she stopped. Still, I wonder who's beautiful enough to have such a mel-" A slapping noise. "Ow, Colonel! Why'd you-" The eldest man let out a snarl to silence the youngest one and returned to topic. "As I was saying, we need to capture the General as soon as possible." He nodded toward his team, pulling back his sleeve and glancing at an antique watch. "We'll strike early in the morning since that's when everybody is just starting to wake up. Until then..." Eyes darted around for a hiding spot. Then found it.

"We'll stay in that orange ship with...hearts...on it...yeah... Any questions?"

Silence.

"None? Good."

* * *

**Sunrise, April 16th, 2182  
Border Town Inn, Room 101**

"Thank you so much! Have a nice day!"

The girl handed the innkeeper the keys to Room 101, thankful to the family who let them spend the night. She and her friends had felt more than overjoyed when they finally found somebody to be willing to shelter them at no cost. During their tour of the marketplace, somebody had brushed by and pickpocketed all the money they had. As intuitive as the woman was, she and her friends had failed to catch the culprit amongst the thick crowd. Penniless, they fought against the minor hunger and hateful glares of people when caught stealing, which had almost brought the youngest to the brink of tears. The female tried her best to comfort him positively, but she knew better. Life after the war was tough.

Now, they had all packed up their belongings and were ready to go. She was sitting on a dilapidated sofa, looking at her surroundings as to study them closely. The wall paint was cracked and chipped at places, lights dimmed to barely seeable levels to conserve power, the wooden furniture dusty and glossy sheen long gone. But despite the gloomy atmosphere of the place, everybody had resorted to helping one another, putting on cheery smiles and serving the best they could. Eyes lowered to the black boots she wore. And yet... eyes stole a glance to the unruly customer demanding money to be paid back for some unknown reason, the poor innkeeper's daughter trying to explain how everybody were poverty-stricken these days. From the timid expression on her face, the poor thing appeared to on the brink of crying. How she hated ca-

"Hey lady. Why are you wearing brown clothing? It looks silly!"

The female turned her head slightly to the voice, vision catching a young male child of no more than five years old. Judging from his face structure and slang accent, it seemed he was a foreigner just visiting France. Like her. His eyes here full of curiousity and wonder, as to be expected of a child. Behind that, she felt, was slight apprehension directed toword her. To him, she was unfamiliar and possibly an outcast renegade from another country. She knew just how much fear there was circulating around France. The worn propaganda posters and recently, news warning of another threat, only served to instill absolute paranoia with the public. Such was the power of the rich to manipulate the poor. She smiled gently to the child, sitting straight against the saggy sofa and patting the space next to her, an offer to sit and chat. He immediately brightened up and jumped next to her. Blue eyes twinkled with uncensored innocence. Brown eyes hid a subtle motherly compassion.

"Brown clothing you vonder?" the woman spoke with a heavy Asian accent, but it was understandable. The child nodded, eyes blinking in wonder to learn more. "Am I de only person to wear brown, my child?" The boy child shook his head no, opening his mouth to speak. "Well, my dad is in the military and he says the only military to wear brown are "evil commies" as he says." The boy canted his eyes to the ceiling as he thought as deep as his growing mind could muster. "Lady..." he finally asks, "You're not a commie...are you?"

The woman's pupils had slightly contracted in absolute shock. Here was this boy and elder woman having of what was supposed to be a lighthearted question, now turned into fear-mongering propaganda by this poor kid's parents. If she was his mother, she would have given the father a scolding or two. Perhaps a boot in the face for lulz. She thought those cold days were completely over, a mere footnote in history to where people could look back and realize, "_Man, those guys sure were complete idiots_!" to have a good laugh about it.

"Lady...are you evil?"

The boy's innocent voice lured her out of trance, the words slamming their dead weight against her emotions. Just how could this innocent child's father say that? It was like saying one was vastly superior to a friend simply because of the clothing worn. It wasn't fair at all. Despite her displeasure, she knew she had to dispel his fears immediately. Taking a slow breath, she smiled at him to calm. "No child. I'm not evil as your father claims whoever he's against." The child gave a uncertain look, brows turned down in anxiety. "But...you're a comm, then Lady?" The mature woman's expression crumbled barely, but soon reverted back into contentment. She gently grasped the boy's tiny hand and, to the surprise of both, pulled into an affectionate hug. "Don't worry child. It won't matter in the end. Everybody from those times are long gone now. It's time to move on, so please..." The woman's arms tightened around the boy's small frame. "No more being scared."

He then said something she would remember for the rest of her life.

"Yes...mommy..."

Her eyes closed and her head brushed against his own, deeply touched.

'_Silly child_...'

She knew the tender moment wouldn't last forever, the boy wasn't her's. So before anybody had the chance to cat-

"Micheal! Why is that woman hugging you?! Come to your mother at once! She could be a communist in disguise!"

The young woman opened her eyes to see a slightly older woman of Asian descent staring spitefully at both her and the child in her arms. Her grip loosened partially. The girl felt rather surprised, this boy in her arms was a half-mix? She peeked to catch a glimpse of his eyes. They still were full of content and bliss directed toward her, a obvious sign he thought she was his mother and he hadn't listened to his real mother at all. No wonder he was so respectful towards her. She could lol at that. "Micheal Yoko Smith! Mother orders you to come to her side! Leave that other woman!" Oh, it seemed the PMSer was getting angry. The girl's hands laid on the boy's shoulders, gently pushing him away. A hand gestured toward the woman before her. "Go back to your real mom now, child."

The boy brought a finger to his lips and shook his head. "No...Micheal likes commie lady better..."

The girl smiled at the innocent comment, eyes filling with melancholy contentment. Her heart warmed at the child's gaze, marveling at the amazing amount of innocence it held. A glance to the other female told a different story. The half-mixed boy's gaze torn into the woman, she could practically feel the longing and want along with propagandist fear. He was liable to be tainted with hatred and contempt for others if the parents continued to teach him wrong. "I want to be friend with commie lady, please be friends?" She wasn't going to let it happen. The woman hugged him once more and lowered her head closer. Lips parted just enough for both of them to hear, "Of course I'll be a friend to you." The child brightened up at her answer, beaming happily. "Really?" A sideways glance to the boy's real mother clearly meant punishment. "You'd better not hurt my boy, communist! I know all of you pinkos are the same!" However, in a world ruled by fear and money, the brown uniformed woman simply ignored the ranting mother and gave the child another tender hug. Fear didn't matter to her.

"Yeh, really." her voice softly spoke.

The boy child tightly hugged back when the words were out, almost clinging to her as if he had accepted her as his real mother. The befuddled look on the other Asian female's face, while clearly amusing the girl, also told her no. She, boy in arms, stood up from the sofa and calmly walked to the boy's real mother. The mother's scowling glare of hatred never changed one bit, even daring to bear pearly white teeth, a sign of aggression to the calm woman holding her baby. Being female herself, the younger woman understood why the elder woman was acting so angrily. "I'm sorry I hurt your child, ma'am. Please, forgive me." The younger offered an honest smile as she set down the real mother's son. "My English is limited. Sorry." The older woman merely took her son's hand, pulling him roughly to her side. She gave the boy a heated look, silencing any protests, then turned her spite against the younger woman before her. The absolute hatred in her gaze was enough to make the younger step back. The girl averted her eyes, sadness filling her heart. She knew what was next.

"I don't care if your English is limited or not! All you communists are the same. Killers and murderers of humans. Absolute lowlife scum deserving to burn in the pits of hell! You want to make people equal so they can suffer! Just all equal clones! Exactly the Gears we defeated not too long ago! Am I right?"

She bit her lip against the emotions roiling inside her. The fascist like words had cut into her deeply, like so many times ago. One part of her wanted to slug this woman across the face to teach a lesson, the other simply wanted a good cry to let all her pent-up sadness out. She knew she couldn't do either, as it would immediately be perceived as "saving face" or "weak" by all the people around her. It wasn't her fault for the brown coat she wore. Heck, she mainly wore it to maintain body warmth. It...it just wasn't fair. The girl closed her eyes for a moment, thinking of the best way to reply. Her hands clenched, then relaxed as arms dropped. Eyes opened to the mother's raging glare once more, this time void of all emotions and soul.

"You disappoint me as a mother. I thought you would be a caring soul, but instead, I see what I have seen too many times. Fear."

The now emotionless girl turned her back upon the boy's mother and walked back to the sofa, collecting a large duffel bag in her arms. She then stepped in between the unruly customer and innkeeper's daughter, whispering something which apparently ceased all unrulyness of the man, causing him to grovelly apologize to his former victim. Without around word, she moved to the door exit quickly and smoothly. She was halfway across the sidewalk before she stopped, feeling a presence glancing at her longingly. Her head turned to see the boy child staring at her from behind his mother's legs. She gave a bittersweet smile to apologize.

A bus sped past, obscuring the woman for a second. When it cleared, she was gone.

* * *

He saw a figure walking not too far away in the distance. From his location, a small well lit cargohold in a ship, anybody could see it wore a brown coat, but nothing more. Risking it all to take a better view, he unfastened a leather case, taking out what appeared to be two black optical scopes attached to each other. Before trying anything foolish, he surveyed the sunlight hastily. The glare was directly opposite of the hold, it was perfect. Nobody could see them. Seizing the chance, the young man peered through the lens. And immediately wolf whistled.

"Hey, wake up Park. Your girlfriend is here."

The sleepy man who was leaning his face against the bulkhead groaned discontently. "No, sleep ...important..."

"Real nice...breasts..."

He shot instantly awake, snatching the lens away from the young man beside him. "Kim, why didn't you say so?" Hands placed the lens over his eyes, searching for the woman whom the man named Kim had mentioned. After a few seconds, his eyes widened in shock amazement. Blood rushed from his heart to his cheeks as he fought to rein in feelings. The man took a deep breath, holding it to focus on...

"Hey?! You listening to me Park Hasa? Gimme those things!"

He found himself sprawled on the bulkhead floor an instant later, lens scope ripped from grasp and embarrassed at nobody but himself. The younger man who was previously content had a look of falsified disapproval. Another man, older than any of them, was glaring knives, warning to never disobey ever again. The man cleared his throat and continued on speaking as if nothing happened. Park averted his eyes as quickly as possible, shoving what he just saw out of mind. He needed to quit dreaming. It probably was just another mean one anyways, like so many he saw in the movies...

"...We'll mingle in the crowd, posing as police. When you see the target, yell. Understood?"

Two nods of heads.

"Good. I'm sure you know what is next." The man's brooding voice stated. Hands grabbed hold of a black longarm leaning against the bulkhead next to the old man and a palm pulled back a lever, a gold cylinder visible for a second, then snapped forwards.

"Zero, your time is up...just wait..."

* * *

"Suu...? Yoon and Kim still there?"

The young man beside the girl gave a nod. "Neh nunah." The girl closed her eyes for a moment, as if thinking, then opened them again. "Good. Let's go." She grasped the man's hand tightly and stepped off, tugging playfully for him to take action. The male gave a light smile and jumped on the female's back, hugging her neck tightly to hold on. She almost fell back at the sudden weight but hopped to compensate, drawing her shoulders in and bending forwards to support the male leeching onto her. She tried taking a goose step, like the armies of the old, but found to her dismay their combined weight would not support the controversial march, seen as oppressive by many people in a free world. Luckily for her, she had more important things to worry about. Hands cradled the leather belt the girl wore, wrists uneasily close to her bustline. Her head turned back slightly to address the person hugging...or leeching off her. "Uhm...Su-Hwa? Could you not leech on me this once? I mean..." The girl's head turned back toward the crowds of people and shipworkers milling about. "We're near docks, you know?" Eyes spotted two men in blue uniforms, the plain utilitarian design suggesting the local police many of the normal public hated with a passion. Currently, the men had fingers on something...

The girl hastily walked into the crowd, not wanting to attract any more attention. She took the boy's dangling legs from under his knees and lifted, easily supporting his weight. He leaned forward, grip moving from neck to waist as he rested his chin on her shoulder. "Nunah," the boy whispered. He closed his eyes as he pressed his head against her own, causing the oversized visor cap worn on his head to tilt over his vision. The girl gave a warm smile, giggling.

"I love you so much."

No sooner had the words left her mouth, did she spot the writing on the armbands. _Military Police_...

At this, the girl felt an old friend of hers rising up it's head again. Fear. She could not help but imagine what would happen if she was captured. Would they question her, beat her, then kill her? Or would they torture and humiliate her first? Would she be forced to watch if they hurt her friends first? Perhaps torture her first, and then her friends? Or vice versa? Would they simply be imprisoned for a falsified accusation? Or even worse, be trafficked illicitly into the hell of the capitalist underworld, never to be seen again?

Just what were they doing in France?

Stopping for a moment, she used her free hand to reach into the pockets of her coat, pulling out a slate black cap with red piping along the outer flaps and front. Holding the brim, she quickly placed it upon her head. Giving a mindful glance directed to the "blue thugs" way behind her, the girl gave a nervous frown and pulled her cap over her eyes to cover them.

Meanwhile, on the orange coloured ship overlooking the port, a man holding a radio spoke.

"In the crowd, move in to secure."

The two blue uniformed men exchanged glances and nodded, following the girl.

* * *

"Thank you. That will be all."

IPF officer Ky Kiske politely turned away from the innkeeper, disappointed in lack of leads for his newest case. He looked down at the poster once again. It simply showed a middle aged Asian man wearing a brown cap, with an odd haircut that could be best described, as Jam would call it, "socialist style". The rank this particular character wore was unusually high, two pure gold colored shoulder boards with a large star imposed upon it. The best Ky could think of was China's Liberation Army, when Jam Kurodoberi personally showed him her own officer ranks, nice red boards of three lined gold embroidery with four small pips. She said she "kept it for good luck". This character was possibly a General. Unfortunately, it was just simply an artist's rendition of what the person looked based upon numerous media reports running riots. That, and the countless people he had asked most likely exaggerated or falsified a story in order for him to quickly end the threat as soon as possible. Couldn't people see that everything was going to take time? Especially post-war times? Alas, such was fear instilled into the pure hearts of the people through mass media. He sighed in annoyance. Back to Square One.

The French man calmly glanced down as he felt a tug on his pant leg. He was greeted by a little boy of whom appeared no more than 5 years. "Uh...officer...if your looking for somebody, I can help." Ky smiled. He sure was glad that this kid wasn't even born when the war had ended. Despite the innocent words, it was too bad he simply couldn't help out.

"First of all, whoever drew the person has the gender wrong. It's a lady." The boy pointed at the board. "Second, the rank's wrong. She had some kind of emblem above the silver star. If I can remember correctly, it featured a waterfall and mountains."

Ky Kiske momentarily mentally reeled at the kid's knowledge. Obviously, one of his parents were in the military if he knew that much. That was extremely rare, since nearly all militaries had disbanded when humans "controlled" the Gears, or so they thought. Only a few select nations had decided to keep their militaries and that decision helped them greatly in the war. But...this boy's knowledge, it was now invaluable. He hated to force children to pressure them into telling, but this time, it could determine the fate of the entire world. There was no choice. Swallowing his guilt, Ky knelt to the boy's level. "Child, what else can you remember about the lady?" The boy immediately responded, "She was wearing a brown coat and had knee high black boots. Oh and she's Asian too. My dad works with them in the military. He says they are very nice. Well..." The boy's gaze became uncertain and conflicted as Ky patiently watched. "At least...the "non-commie" ones. My daddy says some are very mean. I don't know why..." Ky bit his inner lip. '_You have no idea kid_...' The child's expression changed from a pondering one to a cheerful toothy grin. It looked like he remembered something important.

"But the lady was very nice. She even gave me a hug. I really wish...she was my mommy."

Ky smiled gently to ease the child, pleased at his positive way of thinking. "I'm sure you'll met her again someday." He nodded and stood up to leave. "Thanks for the info. Appreciate it, kid." The boy grinned and waved. "Bye officer!" Ky waved a goodbye and stepped out as the wooden door creaked shut behind him. Only one word could describe the underlying peril that the world was in now. As a man of God, he rarely cursed but...

"Le _fuck_..."

With those words, Ky Kiske immediately headed for IPF Headquarters.

Considering all nations had befriended China, there was only just two nations which still hated each other so much as to threaten war with each other.

The republic of A-Country and communist North Korea.

Everything had just officially gotten from bad to worse.

* * *

"I'm being followed. Be lookout, okay?"

The three men under the woman's wing nodded silently. "Sure." She nodded back, opening her mouth to continue on. "Keep low. I don't want anybody to point and rat us out. Remember, we're just visitors to France. Not some army guys seeking to blow shit up. Objections noted, Comrade Miya orders you to get over it."

One of the men next to her smirked. "No U," he muttered jokingly. The other two chuckled, pleased at their friend's meme joke.

A light slap on his side was his receiving answer. "This isn't time to joke, Jin-Seokah! I am not amused!" The man whom was referred to as Jin-Seok smirked playfully. He advanced to the woman and suddenly hugged her around the waist, placing his chin upon her shoulder and smiling too cheerfully. "Oh come on, Miya! We're here to have fun! Not drill like some soulless machines like the rest of the army does! Just live a bit, enjoy the sights, sounds, and hot girls of France!" The woman named Miya rolled her eyes. She knew her friend hugging her tightly was an absolute pervert to his very core and would do anything to see or feel womanflesh. Hands slapped his inching fingers away from her bustline. "Watch it, amigo," she chided firmly. "I don't want you to become the squad's serial rapist. You've already received the "Order of Perverts". Twice. Both 1st class." Jin-Seok laughed the warning off, apparently having too much fun. "Miya. You may have a wonderful voice and body, but your attitude sucks! Tsk, tsk. Better fix that, eh?" The woman snorted. "Yeah, but you fix your perversity first! It's reactionary, ya know?" The man raised a eyebrow. "Oh? Then tell me why you take baths with Shuuichi? You just wanna see him in all his glory, amirite?!"

The girl seriously contemplated on breaking his neck right then and there, but a second glance to her other friends told a different story. For the first time in what seemed like forever, their eyes glimmered with true free happiness, instead of the fake fear-instilled loyalty to some oppressive leader who didn't give a damns worth. Despite all the materialistic things they had brought, everyone seemed interested to give it a try. Her male friends were marveled at everything in France, especially the Eiffel Tower. They laughed and grinned, just to simply enjoy the moment. For the first time, she too felt happy. Not just alone, but together as friends. She smiled. That alone seemed to overrule all the negative things she encountered in the injustice of the "free world".

Petite fingers tenderly brushed the man's hands, tracing softly and gently to tell her friend she wasn't angered at him. Female joints slipped in between the male's fingers perfectly, creating a full link as she squeezed. Jin-Seok smirked arrogantly, half-expecting a hug or explanation to the mystery of life. "I don't have to tell you, Yoon Jin-Seok." His smirk and ego dropped to zero at her words. He wanted his question answered so badly and it was a slap in the face. "I know you're my friend and all, but some things are best to be told later. It's a long story Yoonah and I don't want to explain it. Please..." Her hands tightened the link. "Try to be more understanding. I know you can because you're my darling little schoolmate. I just want you to be happy. That's all."

Yoon Jin-Seok smiled pleasantly, more than satisfied at her wise answer. Despite him being a total perv, she was willing to overlook that fault for him. His happiness. It was just simply amazing how the girl before him had the rare capability to empathize and care for others, no matter how bad they seemed to be on the outside. She truly cared for everybody around her. He huffed in content. "You never cease to amaze me, Miya. You're one of the lucky few..." Eyes drifted to the rundown marketplace, cracked walls and remnants of buildings just beginning to recover from the wounds of war. The man loosened his grip from her belt. "To have compassion."

The girl slapped his hands off in response. There were more important things to be aware of anyways.

"Just be lookout, okay?"

* * *

Two blue uniformed policemen moved swiftly through the crowd of marketers, keeping the distance to their target. They calmly walked straight ahead, the crowd of people rushing to get out of the way. From the heavy footsteps and hushed whispers, it was evident the people feared them very much. Despite making the public uncomfortable, the pair had to continue on their mission. In order to appear less threatening, the men took out cigarettes and lit up, smoking casually to give the illusion they were mere passerbys. Keeping a close eye on the four people in brown, they waited for an opportune moment.

"Ya Park..." one of the policemen said. "Do you think your girlfriend is in that group?" The other policeman took a furious drag on his death stick, tight expression suggesting annoyance. The resulting sigh freed a thick heavy smog from the fissure of his mouth, swirls of grey poisoning the air foul for a moment. "Kim, just how many times do I have to tell you? I'll find a girl myself!" And like all friends, he was not pleased by the half-baked excuse. Kim lightly elbowed Park's side. "Com' on! Your thirty years old and still not had your first kiss, man!" Park growled. "That was _low_, Kim..." The other man ignored him and rubbed his chin thoughtfully, muttering a mantra under his breath. Looking ahead to the people they sought, he discovered the crowd was beginning to congregate again. With nothing else better to do, Kim began to think up of the "perfect girls list". "I know you've always loved the Sumire types! Nice, caring, and good housewives. The perfect dream girl! Or how about Natsuko? Voluptuous and knows how to confront a problem." The young man paused for a moment, then pounded his fist onto his palm. "Wh-"

Park slammed his fist onto the radio on his belt. It was clear he had enough. "Kim!" he nearly shouted, "Do you think playing matchmaker will help me?! No, it won't! And do you know why?!" He pointed a finger ahead. "It's because the General is on the opposite side of us! She behaves differently than us! She's been politically indoctrinated to crazy ass loyalty to some dead guy who wouldn't give a damn about her if they met face to face! And knowing her army, she mostly committed all sorts of atrocities just to get that high of a fucking useless rank! Lives mean nothing to a General, just medals and attention! That's why she's a damn General in the first place! She's been isolated for nearly all her damn miserable life! Even if she and I were to be together in some crazy twisted way, our government would murder us! That's fucking politics for you! It always beats love simply because the warmongering higher ups can send agents to kill us in our sleep! She lives in a totally different world than us! It's impossible!" With the harsh rhetoric out, Park gave a steely glare to Kim. The poor teen's face was downtrodden and his upbeat hopes had been utterly torn apart by the realist words. He knew he had to fix the situation quickly. Letting out a final sigh to release his anger, he stated, "Besides, she's most likely a old hag anyways.

It was then they noticed it was unusually quiet.

"Do you think she heard us?"

When the crowd parted, four brown figures were running in the distance.

Already, the men had crushed their death sticks underneath the heel of their boots as they hauled after.

"She already has!"

* * *

AN: Okay. Ending it here. lawls, too long for you, eh? Well, I had fun typing this chapter. I'll be "officially" introducing the main characters in the next chapter. lol, expect a trench coated American to open a can of whoopass upon some peoples.

And moar Dizzyness too! o

On a side note, the "mommy" scene was directly inspired from a panel from the Korean manhwa: "Zero - The Beginning of the Coffin". As you will read, the main heroine of this story is something akin to a benevolent goddess, despite her being on the "wrong". It's unfortunate that something that is originally meant to be a good thing can become tainted so badly by propaganda. It's like spreading rumours about somebody, slandering them to be "evil" while in fact, they are nice and considerate people, just as human as others.

Why can't people be more understanding these days...?

But I had so much fun writing the scene where my female heroine and the boy acted out the parts of "mother and son". As you can tell, I like writing intimate scenes where it's just one and nothing else.


End file.
